“The Book of Haggai,” Old Testament Seminary Student Study Guide (2002), 189–90
“The Book of Haggai,” Old Testament Seminary Student Study Guide, 189–90
The Book of Haggai
Encouragement to Build the Temple
In 538 B.C. King Cyrus of Persia (also mentioned in the book of Ezra) decreed that the Jews could return to Jerusalem and rebuild their temple, which the Babylonians had destroyed. At first the Jews were very excited about this opportunity, but because of the difficulty and expense of the task, the opposition of their enemies, and the lack of support from the kings that followed Cyrus, the Jews felt discouraged. For sixteen years almost no work was done on the temple. Haggai prophesied in 520 B.C., teaching the people to make the temple a priority and encouraging them to continue rebuilding the temple in spite of these challenges.
Getting Ready to Study Haggai
Haggai gave a specific date for each part of his short book. The months were called by different names in the Old Testament, but have been changed to current names to aid our understanding.
Haggai 1:1–15 29 August 520 B.C.
Haggai 2:1–9 17 October 520 B.C.
Haggai 2:20–23 18 December 520 B.C.
The story of the Jews’ return to Jerusalem and the building of the temple is found in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. For more information on Haggai, see the Bible Dictionary, “Haggai” (p. 698).